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Friday, July 29, 2011

i lost my garmin data before i could sync here. thankfully, i had already uploaded it to garmin connect, so i have the link. even then, my database was full before the end of the ride, so i lost a mile or two. technology...grrrrrr!

the wind this morning was crazy! it was strong out of the northeast, an unusual direction for this part of kansas. dan and i rode over to brandon's and picked him up before we headed north on 281.

when we left the city limits, we organized into a sort of paceline. brandon had the best part. since he's on a recumbant, it doesn't do us much good to have him up front - there isn't any draft - so dan and i took turns pulling. with a little effort we pulled our average up into the respectable range. we'd been piddling around at 13mph before that. nasty wind!

we turned east after passing iuka and rode a few miles to the east. i seriously bonked at one point when dan accelerated and i couldn't hold his wheel. my heartrate was up in the crazy range. after that, i just hung on and did my best to keep up.

the ride home was much more pleasant. we rode through iuka and then south on 281. with the exception of one violent acceleration on dan's part, we took it pretty easy. we cruised into town, turned on maple and then lawrence. at school, we all split off and went our separate ways home. (20.00 miles @ 17.0mph)

Thursday, July 28, 2011

I promised Ron’s daughter I’d go to church with her, hoping he would go as well. However, when it was time to go, Ron was working on a home improvement project with his son-in-law. But keeping a promise is the right thing to do, and in no time, we pulled into the fenced parking lot of a former amusement park—Woodland Hills Family Church. Many noisy kid-filled rooms lined each side of the former theatre as we made our way to the coffee bar, near the sanctuary entrance. Kim and I settled into seats with our coffee in the cup holders. Her friends joined us, and we rocked to upbeat praise music with guitarists, a drummer, keyboardist and vocalist. Then the keyboardist-pastor announced that today, Gary Smalley would be giving the message: high honor and low anger in your life.

Smalley said that what we truly care about is what we honor. It’s best if we honor God, His creation, and the people in our lives. He said we need to honor, and show it frequently, the people who mean the most to us—our spouses, our children, our parents. He told a story about his son breaking his rule of no yelling when Dad was on the phone by running into the room screaming. Smalley told the pastor on the other end that he’d call him back, and swatted his son, who fell out into the hallway, sobbing. He said the look his son gave him said plainly, “You don’t mean it when you say you honor me.” Smalley stopped, took a deep breath, and realized he was honoring a person he didn’t even know above his be-loved son. When he asked his son why he was yelling, the boy revealed he had fallen and hit his ear, and it was bleeding. When he fell into the hallway, he hit the same ear again. Finally, Smalley asked his son if he could forgive him, and the boy hugged him and forgave.

The flip side of the sermon was about how destructive holding anger is. He said that when we harbor anger and resentment against someone, it is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to get sick from it. Anger held in only hurts the person holding it, not the person it is directed towards. Sounds remarkably like the teachings of the Bait of Satan class, doesn’t it? Isn’t it a coincidence how so many of the messages we get reinforce each other? There are no coincidences, only God’s perfect plan for us.

i was going to ride with brandon. dan was going to ride with justin and steve. we ended up riding together with none of the others. they all slept in or something.

after figuring out brandon wasn't coming with us, dan and i rode north of town, biding our time till dan's meet up time with justin and steve. we crossed over from highway 61 to highway 281 on 20th and rode into town with a northwest wind at our backs. i saw the "legendary" dog of north 281, but he missed us. we were too fast.

we rode to justin's house and waited for a bit. no lights on and no activity, so we rode back up to fifth street and headed west out of town hoping to catch the other dan on his daily out and back to cullison. i lost about three miles of data when my garmin failed to restart, so there's a gap in the map. ignore it. i am.

we didn't catch the other dan either, so we turned around and headed back toward town. just before we reached skyline school, the rain started. it was wonderful. the wetness cooled the air and over our shoulders to the west was a beautiful arching double rainbow. wow!

dan dropped back while we rode the wet road into town. i guess he didn't like eating my rooster tail. when we got to town, we sprinted for a bit and then turned off to head home. i arrived about the time my wife got back from her run. (19.93 miles @ 16.9mph)

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

You’ve been grieved by another human being sometime in your life, right? We all have been. How have you handled those situations? What have you done in response to the hurt?

Paul, in this second letter to the church in Corinth, gives some guidance in this area to those who are believers. Take a look.

“If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent – not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven – if there was anything to forgive – I have forgiven I the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:5-11)

The first thing Paul says we need to do when someone has grieved us and they’ve repented…forgive! Forgiveness is an act of the will. It is not a feeling. It is a choice.

“I will no longer hold this person liable for what they did.”“I will cease to hold them guilty in the court of my heart.”

People tell me, “I can’t forgive.” Not true! You can, but you won’t.

After you’ve chosen to forgive the person who grieved you, what do you do? Paul says to comfort him so he won’t be overwhelmed with excessive sorrow. Show concern for the person who grieved you. Tell him you forgive him. Make sure he knows you’ve chosen to let the past stay in the past. You do this for his good. He is your friend, your brother, remember? You don’t want him to continue to beat himself up over what he did. He’s sorry for it. He’s repented. Let him be done with it in his own heart just as you are in yours.

Paul then tells you and me that we need to reaffirm our love for the person who’s caused us grief, welcome them back into your circle of relationships. Remember this is a repentant person! This is someone whose godly sorrow has led them to turn away from sin. This is NOT someone who continues to threaten harm. What exactly reaffirming love looks like, I’ll leave up to you and God. A card. A prayer. A visit. A phone call. Whatever God leads you to do, do it.

Why do we do all this stuff? Why do we forgive? Why do we comfort? Why do we reaffirm our love for the person who’s done us wrong? We do it so that Satan doesn’t outwit the church.

Tell me, what will the world think of the church if the people in it can’t get along? “That’s how Jesus’ followers act? He loved and forgave. All these guys do is bicker and fight. I can get bitterness and invective elsewhere.”

When the “pagans” see that, the church becomes ineffective in its witness. No one wants what we have to offer. No one believes that Jesus can change their life. That’s a logical conclusion based on observation. Isn’t that what you would think of those who will not forgive or comfort or reaffirm love for a friend?

How do you need to apply what you’ve heard to your life? Is there someone who has repented of their sin against you? Do you need to choose forgiveness? Is there someone who has expressed sorrow over the hurt they caused you? Comfort them. Is there someone who has, in love, confessed their sin against you? Have you returned that confession of brotherly affection?

brandon called about the time dan and i were meeting up. he wasn't feeling well and didn't want us to wait on him. hope he's feeling better now.

dan and i left his house just after 6:00 and headed south on country club road. we climbed the three bumps on the edge of town and continued on to 30th where we turned west and rode over to highway 281.

taking a left onto 281, we rode south into the strengthening wind. even though we'd only ridden about six miles at this point, my legs were fried. the previous two days - 50 miles and a hard 18 - had caught up with me. i struggled to hang onto dan's wheel as he pulled me to the road that runs east to sawyer.

when we turned to head into sawyer, life got a bit easier. no more headwind! i still had to put in more effort than usual to deal with the uphill, but gradually my body responded more or less normally to my brain's commands.

at sawyer, we turned north and let the wind blow us back into pratt. dan regaled me with war stories as we cruised along at 20mph or more. i still wasn't my strongest, but i knew i'd survive. we rolled down the hill into pratt and zigzagged our way back home. (26.86 miles @ 17.5mph)

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

i hit the streets at 6:00. i rode past dan's house. no lights! i rode past brandon's house. no lights! i passed brandon walking his dog. not riding today. i rode back past dan's house. no lights! i was on my own.

i suppose that's alright, but i've grown accustomed to riding with people. riding alone has become almost foreign.

since i didn't have anyone to push me, i decided to push myself a bit. i rode out toward glendale keeping constant pressure on the cranks. i rode fairly conservatively up the hills toward mike's, but on the short hills after his place, i climbed out of the saddle to preserve speed.

after the turn around, i had the wind at my back so i was able to maintain higher speeds with less effort. i sped down the hill to the lake and decided to circle the lake. i rode at or just above 20mph through the 15mph zone. i'm such a miscreant.

i left the lake loop and headed back into town. i lost a little speed on the slope up to country club road, gained it back and the lost it on the shart ascent up howard. i never regained my 18.7mph average. if dan had been there to tow me, he'd never have let that happen. oh, well. you win some you lose some. (18.78 miles @ 18.5mph)

Monday, July 25, 2011

i met up with dan and brandon a little after 6:00 this morning and rode with them over to paul's house. i hadn't met paul before, just heard of him through dan. paul is a junior at kansas state studying pre-dental, so he's a young buck with energy to spare and a desire to excel. dan was taking him on his first century ride and invited brandon and me to accompany them for part of the ride. brandon took in the first seven or eight miles before he had to turn around and head back into town to get to work. i rode the first 50 miles and then drove dan's car back into pratt.

as far as the actual ride is concerned, it was one of the best 50-milers i've ever done. i felt great on the little hills we encountered. the three of us worked together well in a paceline and brought our average up tenth after tenth. there was one section somewhere after lake city where i kind of bonked. i just couldn't climb for three or four hills. dan and paul were nice enough to slow down and let me catch them on the downhill sections.

we rode into medicine lodge a little before 9:00. i rode a few tenths more to put me over 50 miles and then stopped with an 18.7mph average. it was hard to drive away. if i could've continued on at that pace, i would've had my best century time ever. oh well. can't do everything. there's work to be done. (50.06 miles @ 18.7mph)

Saturday, July 23, 2011

my stomach was gurgling when i woke up this morning. i drove up to sedgwick county park to run with the gorun group anyway. i pulled up to the park entrance at 5:45, fifteen minutes before the gate opens. there was one car ahead of me. by the time the gate rolled back, there were close to 30 cars lined up on both sides of the street. pretty awesome!

the 7-up i drank to calm things a bit before running didn't help all that much. my gut was still churning when we started out on our warm up lap. i ran with my dailymile teammate, karlee m, at or just below 9:00 pace. kevin s joined us as we ran.

about two miles into the run, i started feeling lousy. my legs felt stiff and my stomach was less happy than when i started. then i started seeing sunspots. that's when i slowed down and walked. i needed to get things back under control. i hated watching karlee and the others run off without me, but i didn't want to puke or collapse so i dealt with my sadness.

after a short walk, i started running again at a slightly slower pace. i ran for a half mile or maybe a little more and had to walk again. i walked until my garmin said i'd gone 3.45 miles then started running again. i ran all the way back to the start where i stopped my garmin at 4 miles and downed a glass of water. karlee and the rest of her pace group came in about that time from their longer loop. they got some water and went out for a few more miles. i walked to my car and drove away done in.

Friday, July 22, 2011

i woke up and hit the road just before sunrise this morning. with no headlights, it was a bit scary here and there, but i managed to navigate the streets of wichita without getting hit.

i rode south into the wind to begin with, taking my bike south to west street and then further south on it until i had to turn left or right. i chose right and soon found myself at hoover road. i'd taken hoover north into town dozens of times, so i decided to take it south. i was pleased to discover several miles of pavement in that direction.

i finally reached the end of the pavement a mile south of 71st street, so i turned around, rode back the mile and took 71st east into haysville. when i hit meridian, i rode south intending to turn around when i hit an hour in the saddle.

the turn around never happened. just before i'd been out an hour, i hit 87th street and on a whim decided to see where it went. i'd never turned there before, so i enjoyed the discovery of a seldom used road with only one dog. he was too slow and didn't get his seven pounds.

at seneca, i turned north again and wound my way back into haysville where i did a little wandering. there's really not an easy way through haysville. i found a bike path and rode on it for a little and then found my way out to highway 81 where i turned to ride back into wichita.

riding up 81 is an adventure. traffic had increased by this time, but it wasn't overly heavy. i rode up and over the viaduct and then grabbed the bike trail at the river just north of used car lot central.

i rode the bike trail all the way up to the sycamore cut off, jumped the curb and rode up to maple and across to the university campus where i stopped for breakfast.

after breakfast, i hit the mean streets again. i needed another 14.47 miles, so i once again headed south on the bike trails. i jumped off on broadway and rode south a mile or two before turning off on 44th street and making two loops around the closed housing development streets.

shooting out of the development back onto broadway, i raced north up broadway, jumped on the bike trail and once again took the sycamore cutoff. a few more twists and turns and i made it back to the dorm parking lot where my odometer rolled over to 45 miles. satisfied, i hopped off my bike and headed into the dorm to clean up and head to workshops.

45 miles on my 45th birthday! what a great gift! the only thing that would've made it better would be 45 friends to share it with. (45.00 miles @ 17.2mph)

Thursday, July 21, 2011

after running two miles with my wife, i decided to add another two at my pace. i hadn't run for ten days, so i was a little rusty, but overall, i felt good. i followed basically the same route i'd just finished up with my wife with a few additional turns. about the time i was finishing up, i got that "i think i'm going to puke" feeling, but it went away when i hit two miles and stopped. i suppose i might have done another mile if that hadn't happened, but after so many days off, i was happy enough with two.

i enjoyed my first run in ten days. it was a nice easy two-miler with my wife early in the morning on the first day of our church's annual conference in wichita. we walked a few blocks away from the dorm where we're staying and then started running. we ran out to seneca and then looped around and headed back toward the university campus. we ran up toward maple, slipped along a sidewalk near the business building and finished running through the north parking lot and back toward the dorm.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Unfortunately, there are times I take life into my own hands. I tend to think I have to work and live this Christian life by my own efforts. Sometimes I take a word so literally and intensely that I attempt to muster up more of myself than is humanly possible! Then I am cursed by the resulting mess.

Thankfully the Lord knows my heart is weak and when I give it back to him, he gently heals me. Sometimes little by little, and sometimes in leaps and bounds, my heart is transformed in his best timing. Though I make mistakes along the way, I am changing through forgiveness. Then I give my whole heart to him again and ta-da! Like magic-because I am filled up with his presence- those love muscles enlarge to love more. This is all a mystery explained only by God’s supernatural power. Though love increases more, our hearts also rest more.

As Jesus takes over my life, he pushes out clutter of legalistic striving. If I try to take my heart back and repair it myself, more religious debris comes into play and I can only cover the wounds with bandages of striving and no rest. If I go back to Jesus and allow him to take the forefront of my soul, change takes place so gently I don’t even realize it until much later. I need to let go more and let God do his supernatural work in me. How about you?

if you'd asked me before this ride how it was going to go, i'd have told you poorly. my legs felt sluggish when i got out of bed, no pop in them at all. i groaned as i shuffled out to the bathroom and stumbled around the garage getting everything in order. i lost the rubber ring that keeps my headlight battery cable steady in the light, so all i could get was an annoying flashing light. no light at all turned out to be better than what i could get. grrrrr!

then i started riding with dan and my legs came to life. it was crazy! i started up the first hill and they responded with a lot more power than i expected. they spun the cranks at will and the road rolled beneath cato's wheels.

since the wind was almost straight out of the south, we decided to change things up a bit and ride west to cullison and back. i hadn't done that for weeks. this time the wind was out of the south instead of the north and it was almost 10 degrees warmer at 79.

we cruised out with what turned out to be an ever so slight tailwind and then hoofed it back to town. even with a little bit of a headwind, we raised our average speed several tenths of a mile per hour. we just powered over each roller and kept pushing on the downhills.

when we swung off of highway 54 onto lawrence we'd attained an 18.5mph average. pretty good for a couple of old guys who didn't even bother to draft off each other. (20.70 miles @ 18.5mph)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10

It blows me away every time I read those words. Before I was born, God knew the good I would do. Before I said yes to his call to be saved, he knew the service for which he would equip me. Then he saved me. He shaped me. He called me. He equipped me. He sent me.

The same is true for you. Your purpose is to do good works. That’s why God saved you. Before he saved you he had works in mind for you to do! You are doing them.

Sometimes people think they have to do the big thing or the dramatic thing to be doing what God wants them to do. They get discouraged. They believe they’re of no value to kingdom. That’s crazy!

So many read about the exploits of Paul and Barnabas and Peter and all and compare their lives with these men’s lives. What about all the other members of the church who kept things going when the apostles weren’t around? What about all the others who quietly served? They were doing God’s will too! They were as valuable to the church as any of the men the Bible names.

You are as valuable as any other saint. I urge you to do the little things God gives you to do each day! Speak a kind word to your neighbor when you both find yourself at the curb moving your sprinklers. Choose to forgive the person whose past actions toward you hurt so much. Pray when the news saddens you. Take advantage of the opportunities to teach your kids God’s ways when they pop up unexpectedly.

i finally met mike today. i'd ridden past his house multiple times and been introduced to his name by brandon and dan, but never met him. today he was walking his bike out for a ride as dan and i rode by, so we swung back to pick him up.

after he was on his bike, he rode along with us out to glendale and back to his house and then down the hill, passed the lake into town. we had a bit of a scare on lake road. the winner of "american idiot" came up behind us going full bore, blaring at us with his air horn. he did not slow down or move over, but buzzed us going uphill. he then proceeded to turn around in his seat and flip us off. dan and i both tried to see his license plate, but it was obscured. grrrrr! ignorance is bliss for the possessor, but not the victims.

after our close encounter, we continued on over the hill and down it to highway 281. we turned north into town and took a loop around lemon park before heading up to sixth street which we took to country club. at country club, mike headed south back toward home and dan and i turned north toward our homes. a quick climb up the hill on 54 and a corner or two more and i was back home safe and sound. (20.76 miles @ 16.5mph)

Monday, July 18, 2011

monday is my favorite day. it's my day off. i still get up early to ride, but i can ride longer. thankfully, it's brandon's day off too and dan's always off, so we took in a big loop out and around through coats.

we started off into a not-too-stiff south wind riding down 281. we weren't bothered by it much, but it did keep our average speed down for awhile. we turned off somewhere around 70th and rode down to 90th before turning west to coats.

in coats, we took a little touristy detour for a photo shoot in front of the petrified wood creations of one of the town's residents. after two or three shots, we mounted up again and continued our tour heading north.

we turned east again on old 54 and rode back into town. when we reached our normal turn off, we rode on down the hill and added a few miles to make sure we were past 30 for the day. a few more turns and i was home. loved it. (32.69 miles @ 17.3mph)

Friday, July 15, 2011

dan stayed up for the midnight showing of harry potter last night, so brandon and i were on our own again this morning. we had a great ride at a pretty relaxed pace. we didn't rush up any hills or hammer down them. we just rode and talked and laughed. it was really enjoyable. we took a slightly different route home, so we got to climb back up to country club road. that's one of the steeper slopes around.

the early birds were out enjoying their wormy (or whatever) breakfasts. we saw mississippi kites, mourning doves, wild turkeys and canadian geese. (17.12 miles @ 16.8mph)

Thursday, July 14, 2011

i thought i was going solo today, but on my way out to the highway i ran into brandon and chose to ride with him. we did our usual out and back to glendale without the benefit of dan's towing service. the hills were a little more daunting without a strong engine to follow, but we made it.

on the way back, we found a pair of pliers on the side of the road. a great find for me since my pliers had somehow come up missing after our move.

when brandon peeled off to go home, i went ahead and added a few more miles, looping out by the cemetery and back around through town on 61 and 54. (21.47 @ 16.7mph)

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

i rode to dan's house and the first thing out of my mouth was, "i want to do something different today." i like the glendale out and back, but i was ready to explore.

we started out to ride directly to iuka and then meander through the countryside, but a train across the tracks sent us around the block and back to the east. we took highway 61 north to 30th and then went west to 281. from there it was a quick 2 or 3 miles north to iuka.

we rode past the town to 60th, so i could see where the next paved road was and then turned and rode south into town on 281. dan showed me the house with "the" dog, but "the" dog didn't show itself. i'm hoping i never meet the crazy mutt.

we rode into town past the hot and cold water towers and turned east on school street. from there it was a quick downhill and a shallow uphill, a couple of corners and then home. (17.71 miles @ 17.1mph)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

rode to work this morning and then down to the donut shop for my first staff meeting as senior pastor here in pratt. i rode home for lunch then and back to work before riding to a church member's house to pick something up and then riding to the office and then back home. made for a pretty good day mileage-wise. unfortunately, i developed a problem with my front derailleur on the way back to the church on my last trip. i'll have to figure that out. (9.29 miles @ 12.2mph)

i'm learning how to ride with dan and brandon. i didn't overcook myself today on any of the hills or on the sprint down to the lake. i rode faster, but didn't get my heartrate up in the blow up your chest range. had a great ride and talk. it's crazy to think that since the day i met dan, i haven't ridden solo once. i love it! (17.70 miles @ 17.2mph)

Monday, July 11, 2011

after my ride, my wife and i went out for a short run around the neighborhood. the temps had risen several degrees from when i stopped rolling. it was 84 already at 9:15, headed for a high of 105. ugh! glad we didn't run long.

i enjoyed a quick out and back to glendale this morning with brandon and dan. we took it pretty easy most of the time, talking as we rolled along. when we got back to dillon's brandon went home and dan and i went hunting for other riders. when we didn't find them, we decided to go south on 281 so i could experience the uphill at the edge of town. it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. i still fell behind dan some, but enjoyed the ride.

we rode back into town and took a could of laps around lemon park. as we started the second loop, justin caught us. that makes four cyclists i've met since moving here! we left the park and rode back south to lake road. we climbed the nasty little hill there and then i turned off to head home while justin and dan went out for more.

i zigged and zagged back to howard and then, because of traffic on 54, took a block detour to the east to get across. after i left 54 behind, i made it home in no time at all. i pulled into my driveway at 8:00 just as i'd planned. (32.80 miles @ 17.0mph)

Friday, July 8, 2011

timing and exact distance are a guesstimate. i rode about four miles of warm up before dan showed up at my house. we left from there and i forgot to start my garmin until we'd ridden about 11 or 12 miles more. i started it up and then we met brandon and i rode back a mile to the top of gnad hill with dan and brandon before returning to town. a good morning ride to follow up on wednesday's century. (23.00 miles @ 17.2mph)

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

wind is a four letter word. hill is too! my brother-in-law, my friend dan and i "enjoyed" a lot of both today. the wind was our friend early in the ride. not so much in the middle. good enough at the end. we rode on quiet back roads and major highways through the gyp hills, something i've wanted to do for years! we did a little dirt, too. we picked up gatorade wherever we could find it. toward the end it got hot and we had to take it a bit slower. it was kind of disapppointing to end the day with a 16.5mph average when we were up to almost 19mph early on. guess we'll have to try this route again. well, maybe not the dirt road! (107.6 miles @ 16.5mph)

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

now that i'm actually more than .04 miles from my office, i get to post daily commute miles. today's miles include several trips back to the house to keep the laundry going and to get things i'd left there. there's also a ride to the chinese restaurant for lunch and a quick out and back to downtown to take care of vehicle registration and bill payment. (8.54 miles @ 11.3mph)

I’ve always taken very seriously my responsibility before God for myself and for His church. I’m not easy on myself. I hate my sin, my weaknesses. Realistically, God is likely more merciful toward me than I am.

As for the church, I know I am accountable before God for every person I serve. That has always been true for God’s preachers and prophets.

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.” (Ezekiel 33:7-9, NIV)

Sobering words to say the least. They speak volumes to me. If I fail to speak the truth God commands me to teach, the blood of every man, woman and child who does not believe on and follow Jesus is on my head. That’s why I speak as clearly as I can when I preach. It’s why I write plainly about God’s word. Not that I always get it right. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve hurt people. I’ve had to reevaluate what I’ve “known” as God has revealed my mistaken views.

I cannot promise perfection to you. I am a man who has not yet arrived. I will pledge this, however, I will do my best with God’s help to point you toward a life of faith and obedience to God’s word and his Spirit’s leading.

i checked in on the "independence ride" challenge and saw only one entry, so i decided to get a quick 10 in before work. i rode south to sixth street and then zigzagged my way to the lake. i then climbed up and over cook hill and part way up gnad hill before turning around and retracing my "steps" back home.

there's one difference between riding here and argonia that i hadn't thought about until this morning. there are six stop signs in the first mile and a half of this route. in argonia there was one stop sign a quarter mile north of my house and that was it. glad they're changing the laws in kansas to allow rolling cautiously through those ugly red octogons!

Monday, July 4, 2011

fred and i are not stupid. on our third ride with dave, we let him do a lot more work. on almost every hill, no matter how slight, we'd peel off the front and ride his wheel. on the downhills, we'd take short pulls, then dave was back to the front. i don't think he minded much. this arrangement gave us our best overall average of the weekend. the dogs came out again, but they couldn't touch us. the hills were there, but we didn't bonk. great fun! almost wish i could ride with dave again. almost. (25.90 miles @ 20.8mph)

Sunday, July 3, 2011

after a good night's sleep, fred and i were ready to ride with dave again. all the pain of the day before was behind us. we could hang with him.

we left the museum, headed south on highway 77 and turned west onto 322nd road. we'd scouted the road's first three miles, so we knew we wouldn't have the painful rollers to deal with this time. we'd just have to deal with dave's unrelenting speed and, it turns out, two ugly dogs.

the mutts came out of nowhere as we approached a trailer house that looked all but abandoned. the tall weeds hid the evil beasts. i heard barking before i saw them. i accelerated and got away, leaving dave and fred to handle the greetings.

the rest of the ride out was pretty uneventful until we hit highway 166 after finding another "end of pavement" route. on 166, i bonked. i'm not sure exactly why, but i had nothing left. i couldn't climb like i had on the rollers the day before. my legs just quit while climbing a long gradual incline. i watched, powerless to do anything about it, as dave and fred pulled away. i struggled up and over the top and caught up with them only to repeat on the next long uphill.

we turned around after another two or three miles and headed back to the museum. we rode past the evil twins again. i somehow managed to avoid their deadly jaws while riding past powerless to increase my speed much.

finally, dave and fred dropped me. i didn't really care. my heartrate was under control and i was riding. i caught up with them briefly at the junction of highway 77, but then, on the hill up to the museum, i was off the back again. i kept them in sight, but that's about all i can say for my efforts. i pulled into the museum parking lot, unclipped and stowed my bike. (31.03 miles @ 20.3mph)

Saturday, July 2, 2011

fred and i had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we swung our legs over the top tube of our bikes and rolled out with dave. we'd ridden with each other before, but not with dave. all we knew was this: dave used to race in colorado.

we headed south from the cherokee strip museum south of arkansas city onto 61st road. our speed ramped up after a lazy first mile and never really slowed much throughout the 20+ mile ride. after a false start, meeting an early end to the pavement heading south, we returned to 322nd road and headed east.

there are hills to the east of 61st road on 322nd and dave's pace was relentless up the hills which came one after another, after another. after a few of these rollers, fred broke. i don't say that as an insult at all. he'd barely slept the two nights before traveling 22 hours in a car from delaware and then dealing with our father-in-law's snoring. when i accelerated on a hill, fred couldn't. i didn't even know i'd done him in until dave pulled up next to me and said, "you dropped your brother-in-law."

we slowed and waited. i apologized. we continued on. the hills didn't let up. we made it together to the end of the pavement after a close encounter with a couple of dogs.

we rested for a little bit at the bottom of the hill leading back to those dogs' home, then clicked back in and began our ascent. we rolled past the driveway at the summit and the dogs came out at full speed. dave and i accelerated. fred was eaten. that might be a bit of an exaggeration. he had to clip out and kick a dog. that's all. he survived unscathed.

we rode on, pushing up one hill, rolling down the next. fred dropped behind, but not by much. we rode back to 61st street. dave and i stopped. fred rolled up. we continued on to the west. crossing highway 77, we discovered a much less painful road with gradual inclines instead of sharp ups and downs. we rode out three miles or so and then turned around to head back to the car together. fred had recovered a bit and stayed with us to the museum. (22.81 miles @ 18.7mph)

Friday, July 1, 2011

i got back from my ride and my wife was just getting ready to run, so i changed quickly and went out with her. neither of us was feeling especially peppy, so we took it slow and just ran a short mile and a half up to the cemetery and back. not much else to report.

i met dan and brandon yesterday. today we rode together. this is how all friendships should start.

we met out in front of my house at 6:00 and headed south on howard toward sixth. the spun down sixth to country club and took it south to lake road. after buzzing past the lake, we headed south out of town. after climbing two hills, we turned east and rode to the end of the pavement. the small glendale united methodist church is there at the turn around.

on the way back, we sped down the hill and broke the 25mph speed limit through the lake area. rebels! then we took the road north to u.s. 54 and rode back into town. at highway 61, dan kept going straight and brandon and i turned north. we rode up to maple and then across to lawrence which took us both back home.

i had a great time. i'm looking forward to many more rides with these guys and the other cyclists they've told me about. (19.10 miles @ 16.9mph)